South Korea Prosecutor Seeks Arrest of Samsung Chief for Bribery

[FrgMstr]

You would have figured that these guys at Samsung made enough money after selling all the SSDs, TVs, Phones (minus the ones that explode), and a gaggle of other things, to not have to worry about bribery and corruption. Maybe not.

South Korea's special prosecutor on Monday sought a warrant to arrest the head of Samsung Group [SAGR.UL], the country's largest conglomerate, accusing him of paying multi-million dollar bribes to a friend of President Park Geun-hye.

Investigators had grilled Samsung Group chief Jay Y. Lee for 22 straight hours last week as a suspect in a corruption scandal, which last month led to parliament impeaching Park.

 

[westrock2000]

Being owned by the government has it's ups and downs. A couple arrests here and there are worth it in the long run....as long as the political environment is in your favor.

 

[NeoNemesis]

This South Korean cult/corruption debacle is getting out of hand. I hope that Park Geun-hye and Choi Soon-sil get thrown in jail for a long, long time.

I feel bad for the Samsung executive, it isn't like he had a choice. They were basically blackmailed into paying protection money by the president's 'friend' (who is also the leader of a cult). I wouldn't be surprised if the other Chaebol heads also get nailed for corruption.

Choi Soon-sil has known President Park since the 1970s when Choi's father, Choi Tae-min, was then-president Park Chung-hee's mentor as the family was still grieving from the assassination of then first-lady Yuk Young-soo.[8] Choi at that time claimed that the shamanic leader can channel communication to her dead mother.

Several news media including Chosun Broadcasting System and JTBC reported that Choi, who has no official government position, had access to confidential documents and information for the president, and acted as a close confidant for the president. Choi and President Park's senior staffs including both Ahn Jong-bum and Jeong Ho-sung have used their influence to extort ₩77.4 billion (~ $75 million) from Korean chaebols—family-owned large business conglomerates—and set up two culture and sports-related foundations, Mir and K-sports foundations. Choi is also accused of having influenced Ewha Womans University to change their admission criteria in order for her daughter Chung Yoo-ra to be given a place there.

 

[Stimpy88]

This news must have most of the members here really happy.

The minority here recognises Samsung for what they are, a criminal enterprise.

 

[shansoft]

This news must have most of the members here really happy.

The minority here recognises Samsung for what they are, a criminal enterprise.

They are known to be criminal enterprise in the industry for a long time. Stealing tech to keep up their Fab to date, and to hiring writers and journalist on bashing competitor. Their CEO was even bail out multiple times by their president.

 

[Iching]

They are known to be criminal enterprise in the industry for a long time. Stealing tech to keep up their Fab to date, and to hiring writers and journalist on bashing competitor. Their CEO was even bail out multiple times by their president.

How else do Asian companies are supposed to compete? They can't compete on design nor quality. They compete on pricing and that's about it. I still like my Samsung SSD though.

Japnese car companies are an exception but most of them are made in the US anyway.

 

[Trimlock]

I'm surprised that this guy has chosen to remain in the country with how much turmoil hes been involved with recently.

 

[niconx]

Bribery isn't illegal, don't be silly.

 

[Twisted Kidney]

Bribery isn't illegal, don't be silly.

The funny thing is that over here is very specifically legal. Canada, US, UK, hell most western countries have provisions for politicians to take bribes without fear of consequences.

Cash-for-access is the most common method, a politician can't take a secret bribe, but you can take public ones to a foundation that happens to back your political ambitions.

I challenge anyone to find a mover and shaker in the western world who isn't running some sort of semi-fake charity.

 

[lcpiper]

They are known to be criminal enterprise in the industry for a long time. Stealing tech to keep up their Fab to date, and to hiring writers and journalist on bashing competitor. Their CEO was even bail out multiple times by their president.

You should at least try and make the distinction between the different divisions of the parent company Samsung. The old man who is president of the Cheabol, the conglomerate if you will, is one thing, but he basically put his sons in charge of different divisions and the different divisions really are in many ways separate companies.

These few Chaebols manage most of the big business in the country. If one is having real problems, sometimes the government will try to force the others to bail them out. Sometimes the government is successful, sometimes they are not. But the government is very careful about allowing one of these massive businesses to fail because it would be very hard on many people. Anyway, all of Asia is the same in these regards. China, Japan, Korea, it's as much cultural as anything else. They just do not have the same measuring stick when it comes to morals and ethics. My wife is Korean, trust me, I know. And it isn't that they don't have morals and ethics, they just are based on a different set of values.

 

[DocSavage]

The funny thing is that over here is very specifically legal. Canada, US, UK, hell most western countries have provisions for politicians to take bribes without fear of consequences.

Cash-for-access is the most common method, a politician can't take a secret bribe, but you can take public ones to a foundation that happens to back your political ambitions.

I challenge anyone to find a mover and shaker in the western world who isn't running some sort of semi-fake charity.

This wasn't even a politician taking the money. It was a religious leader. Over here, you looked down on if you aren't part of some organized religion and most religions ask for donations - 10% of your income if you are Catholic.

 

[lcpiper]

This wasn't even a politician taking the money. It was a religious leader. Over here, you looked down on if you aren't part of some organized religion and most religions ask for donations - 10% of your income if you are Catholic.

Na, she wasn't a religious leader, her father was. She was just the President's friend since childhood.